Waiting for Spring

I did get out with Hereford Botanical Society a week or so ago and it turned out to be one of the few goodish days we have had since the New Year. This was a walk near Bishop's Frome - home to the "Bishop's Frome Limestone" that outcrops here near Hay and continues in a thin band westwards.

It was a lovely walk. The highlight for me was Aspen trees larger than I have seen before:

Aspen, Aethnen or Populus tremula - not a view I am used to!

It was a big tree.

Male catkins

Watch out for these right now (they were too high above us, if present, near Bishop's Frome)- the male type as above are much more likely to be seen but there is a female tree near Llangorse lake that bears catkins with red stigmas. (Thanks to Ray Woods for pointing that out to me.) 

We also saw plenty of this - Herefordshire is the county for it after all.

Mistletoe, Uchelwydd or Viscum album

The group

 A fungus we met on the way.
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Meanwhile, preparations for the BSBI Welsh AGM to be held at Brecon in July continue, triggering an update of the Brecknock page on the BSBI Website.

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And here is a reminder that we have had some (very little) weather below freezing.